U.S.-China military tensions start to rise as trade war deepens

September 27, 2018 | 5:26 pm

By Bloomberg
AS a trade war heats up between the U.S. and China, military tensions are also rising.
China on Tuesday refused a U.S. warship entry to Hong Kong next month, according to the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, and Beijing’s top naval officer canceled a high-level meeting with his U.S. counterpart after being recalled to China, according to Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman.
The moves come as a worsening trade war prompts concern in Beijing over whether President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs are part of a master plan to stop China from threatening American dominance of the Indo-Pacific. The Trump administration last week levied unprecedented penalties on a Chinese military procurement agency and its director for allegedly purchasing Russian combat aircraft, claiming a violation of U.S. sanctions.
“It all adds up,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, who teaches U.S.-China relations at Hong Kong Baptist University. “It plays into the hands of the conservatives like Xi Jinping in China’s leadership that Trump’s real intent is to contain China’s rise.”
MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Trump’s latest assault came Wednesday when he accused China of trying to interfere in coming U.S. midterm elections in November. Trump said he had evidence, but didn’t provide any. He also said he and Xi might no longer be friends.
“We do not and will not interfere in any country’s domestic affairs,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a session of the United Nations Security Council, through a translator. “We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China.”
The U.S. State Department said its sanctions on the Chinese military’s Equipment Development Department — which oversees China’s defense technology — weren’t intended to undermine the military capabilities or combat readiness of any country, but rather to impose costs on Russia in response to alleged interference in the U.S. election process. Among Russia’s arms customers, only China has been targeted by American sanctions.
The list of Chinese grievances against the Trump administration has mounted since the president unleashed his trade war, placing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.
‘STRIKE BACK’
“In China, they are debating how they can respond and there are hawks who say, ‘We have to strike back,’” said Collin Koh Swee Lean, research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. The country’s military actions this week are a way of “showing displeasure without crossing the line into something more serious.”
China has employed similar messaging in the past. In 2016, Beijing denied a U.S. carrier strike group’s request for a Hong Kong port visit during a period of heightened tension with the U.S. over the South China Sea.
Washington has also adeptly deployed the tactic. To protest China’s militarization of artificial structures it has created in the waters, the U.S. earlier this year disinvited the Chinese from participating in the 2018 Rim of the Pacific exercises — drills held in the Pacific every two years that bring together the militaries of two dozen nations.
China will likely continue finding ways to express its dissatisfaction, without derailing its attempts to resolve the trade war via conciliation.
TOOK UMBRAGE
“I expect this kind of thing will continue,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore specializing in U.S.-China relations. “It’s what the Chinese do when they want to express anger over a particular issue.”
Beijing took umbrage in August, when U.S. senators pushed for sanctions against seven Chinese officials and two surveillance equipment manufacturers after reports that China is forcing as many as 1 million Muslims into “re-education” camps in its far western region of Xinjiang. On Monday, China’s Defense Ministry issued a sharply worded statement expressing dissatisfaction after the U.S. approved the sale of a $330 million military equipment package to Taiwan.
Taiwan has been an escalating point of tension between the U.S. and China since Trump’s election. Before he took office, he tweeted about his protocol-breaking phone conversation with Tsai Ing-wen, the island’s Beijing-skeptic president. He subsequently questioned the One-China policy, which has guided U.S.-China ties since the 1970s.
PARACEL ISLANDS
The British warship HMS Albion sailed by the Chinese-occupied Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea earlier this month, adding to China’s sense that countries were joining forces with the U.S. to stymie its expansion in the waters — of which Beijing claims more than 80 percent — said Koh. An international arbitration panel in the Hague ruled in 2016 that China’s claims have no legal standing.
France’s Defense Minister Florence Parly said at June’s Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore that French and British naval forces would sail together through “certain areas” in the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy routinely conducts freedom of so-called freedom of navigation operations to demonstrate its right to sail there.
Japan this month held a submarine exercise in the South China Sea. It led Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang to caution that the “relevant non-regional country” should refrain from undermining peace and security.

The world’s biggest crypto company just opened the books for its IPO

September 27, 2018 | 5:24 pm

By Bloomberg
ONE of the cryptocurrency world’s most powerful, controversial and secretive companies just opened its books for the first time.
Bitmain Technologies, the virtual currency mining firm co-founded by billionaires Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan, released its first public financial statements in a Hong Kong regulatory filing late Wednesday. The disclosure, which also confirmed Bitmain’s intention to pursue an initial public offering, follows months of speculation about the company’s listing plans and its potential vulnerability to a more than $600 billion rout in digital assets since January.
Here are some highlights from Bitmain’s filing:

• Profit rose almost ninefold to $742.7 million in the first half from a year earlier

• Revenue rose about 10-fold to $2.8 billion in same period

• Adjusted return on equity of 58.9% Bitmain held $886.9 million of cryptocurrency assets at the end of June, or about 28% of total assets

• Company recorded an impairment loss of $102.7 million on crypto assets in the first half; impairment provision on inventory of $252.7 million

• Inventories swelled to $887 million from $558 million at end 2017

• Volatile markets may require “significant provisions” on inventories and crypto holdings

• Mining hardware sales make up 94.3% of revenue; mining pools 1.5%; mining farms 0.8%; proprietary mining 3.3%; others 0.1%

• Company has adopted a dual-class share structure, giving co-founders Wu and Zhan control China International Capital Corp. is the IPO sponsor

Founded in 2013, Bitmain is one of the biggest companies to emerge from the boom in digital assets that propelled Bitcoin to a 15-fold gain last year. As both the largest operator of Bitcoin mining collectives and the dominant supplier of virtual currency mining machines, the firm has enormous influence over the global crypto ecosystem — a role that has troubled members of the community who disdain anything resembling a centralization of power.
Yet questions over the sustainability of Bitmain’s meteoric rise have been multiplying in recent months. The 2018 tumble in virtual currency prices threatens both the profitability of Bitmain’s mining operations and demand for the custom chips it sells to other miners. Meanwhile, competition in the mining-gear business has grown more intense.
Two of Bitmain’s biggest rivals — Canaan Inc. and Ebang International Holdings Inc. — are also pursuing IPOs in Hong Kong as they seek funding for a technological arms race. Bitmain risks losing its competitive edge, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts wrote in a report last month.
For now though, Bitmain is still the industry bellwether, with a market share in crypto mining gear estimated by Frost & Sullivan at nearly 75 percent. If the company proceeds with the IPO, it will represent a major test of whether investors view virtual currencies as a temporary fad or an innovation with staying power. A Bitmain listing — with its myriad public disclosure requirements — may also help reduce the opacity of an industry that skeptics say is under-regulated and prone to misbehavior.
“From the initial numbers I saw, it’s quite encouraging,” said Jehan Chu, managing partner at blockchain investment and advisory company Kenetic Capital. The firm invested in Bitmain during an earlier round of funding, Chu said. “It’s great to have actual clarity, validated documents to shed some light on the company’s actual status and actual performance.”
The company has yet to disclose a target valuation or say how much it wants to raise from its IPO. People familiar with Bitmain’s plans told Bloomberg last month that the share sale may raise as much as $3 billion. The company has repeatedly declined to comment when asked for details of its listing plans.
Bitmain’s main product is called the Antminer, a server-sized box that sells for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Instead of the various parts that make up a traditional PC, Antminers are filled with dozens or hundreds of high-powered chips, known as ASICs, that perform the brute-force number crunching needed to verify virtual currency transactions. Customers are mostly large mining operators in places with cheap electricity.
While Bitmain gets most of its revenue from mining equipment sales, the company also runs some of the world’s biggest mining collectives, in which members combine their processing capacity and split the rewards.
Wu has said he wants Bitmain to branch out into non-crypto fields such as artificial intelligence, where ASICs also play an important role. In an interview earlier this year, he estimated that as much as 40 percent of Bitmain’s revenue will come from AI chips within five years. But skeptics, including Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Mark Li, have said a successful push into AI is far from certain.
There’s also no guarantee that investors will flock to Bitmain’s IPO, especially given the recent weakness in Hong Kong’s stock market.
The city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index has dropped 16 percent from this year’s high in January, one of the biggest declines among major markets worldwide.

Jollibee to bring Panda Express to the Philippines

September 27, 2018 | 11:42 am

By Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has struck a partnership with US-based Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. to bring widely popular Chinese-American food chain Panda Express to the Philippines
In a disclosure to the Stock Market on Thursday, JFC Chairman Mr. Tony Tan Caktiong said that “[this is] [v]ery much in line with JFC’s brand portfolio, it has excellent tasting dishes at reasonable price points.”
“[In the l]ong-term, Panda Express has a high potential for broad acceptance across the country,” he said.
In the same statement, Panda Express Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Cherng said that his group feels fortunate to strike a deal with JFC as it “has a history of growing and adding significant value to its new businesses.”
“We look forward to tapping into JFC’s market expertise to grow the Panda Express brand into a household name in the Philippines and, more importantly, actioning our shared value of inspiring people to better their lives,” he said.
Panda Express, which first opened in 1983, is known for its Chinese cuisine-based dishes such as the Original Orange Chicken, SweetFire Chicken Breast, and Shanghai Angus Steak.
To date, Panda Express has more than 2,100 branches worldwide.
JFC operates 2,988 restaurants worldwide, 1,103 of which under the Jollibee brand.

Asian development outlook 2018 update

September 27, 2018 | 12:32 am

THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) has slashed its Philippine economic growth projections for this year and 2019 following “stagnant” performance in agriculture and a merchandise export slowdown, even as investments continue to rise. Read the full story.

PHL growth to slow, still ‘robust’ — ADB

September 27, 2018 | 12:32 am

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) has slashed its Philippine economic growth projections for this year and 2019 following “stagnant” performance in agriculture and a merchandise export slowdown, even as investments continue to rise.
The regional lender revised downwards its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 6.4% in 2018 and 6.7% in 2019 in its Asian Development Outlook Update published on Wednesday, from 6.8% and 6.9% in its April report.
If realized, this year’s growth would be slower than the actual 6.7% clocked in 2017 and would fall short of the government’s 7-8% target.
But while the Philippines “faces the largest downward revision to its growth forecast for this year — by 0.4 percentage points — followed by Malaysia by 0.3 points, the Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam by 0.2 points and Indonesia by 0.1 points,” it should still “post strong growth both this year and next,” the report read.
Contributing to next year’s pickup, the report added, would be acceleration of state spending on infrastructure and social services, while “[t]he recent buildup of inflationary pressure should moderate next year as tighter monetary policy reins in inflation expectations.”
Clarifying that this year’s projection of “6.4% is still a very robust economic growth rate,” ADB Country Director for the Philippines Kelly Bird said in a press conference on Wednesday at the ADB headquarters in Mandaluyong City that the new 2018 projection was “in line with the Philippine long-term growth and it’s driven by investments.”
“And because it’s driven by investments, we also believe that economic projection for next year is around 6.7%,” Mr. Bird said.
“That would be driven by investment and we expect that to further pick up due to a lot of flagship projects under the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program that will start to come on stream next year.”
The Malacañan Palace issued a statement after the report was released, saying: “We expected this slowdown vis-à-vis our growth target for the year, given that certain policy decisions — such as the closure of Boracay and the full implementation of our comprehensive tax reform package which would benefit the country in the long-run — contributed to the deceleration.”
“We assure the public that our macroeconomic fundamentals are resilient, strong and stable,” it added.
“Our economic managers are committed to the country’s long-term vision and are swiftly addressing issues affecting our growth prospects to sustain high growth and make it inclusive.”
Noting continued growth of importation of capital goods and infrastructure spending, Mr. Bird pointed out that the country’s fixed investment-to-GDP ratio reached 27.2% last semester — the highest in over two decades — “laying the foundation for sustained growth over the medium term.”
The economy grew 6.3% last semester versus 6.6% in 2017’s first half, weighed particularly by flat farm performance and slowed increase in household spending that nevertheless fueled nearly 70% of GDP.
ADB’s projections for the Philippines are above the Southeast Asia averages of 5.1% and 5.2% for 2018 and 2019, respectively.
They also compare to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s estimates as of July of 6.7% for both years, as well as the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s 6.8% and 6.9% for 2018 and 2019, respectively, as of May.
CHALLENGES
Mr. Bird said agriculture will continue to weigh on Philippine growth prospects, together with rising inflation and subdued merchandise exports.
“Economic growth remains strong,” he said.
“It softened a little, but that’s because of exports on the demand side but also agriculture on the supply side, and inflation as we know increased well above the target,” he explained.
“We still see those cost-push factors working their way through the economy,” he added, citing the impact of rising food and global oil prices.
“You’ve got a stagnant agriculture sector, and in fact in some areas production declined.”
The regional lender noted that agriculture edged up just 0.6% last semester from 5.6% in 2017’s first half, while growth of exports of both goods and services eased to 9.8% from 19.5% in the same comparative six-month periods.
At the same time, he noted that the government has been “vigilant” and “very proactive in addressing inflation,” citing the 100 basis-point policy interest rate hike so far this year, distribution of cash cards among the poor, administrative orders to streamline distribution of food such as lifting non-tariff trade barriers, cutting red tape in importation, setting up of public outlets and cold storage facilities, among others.
Headline inflation in accelerated to a fresh multiyear-high 6.4% in August from 5.7% a month ago and 2.6% a year ago. The eight-month average in the overall rise in prices clocked in at 4.8%, above the central bank’s 2-4% target range for 2018.
The ADB expects inflation to average five percent this year and moderate to four percent in 2019, compared to its previous projections of four percent and 3.9% for those respective years.
Mr. Bird said the increase in interest rates is “designed to slow down growth on the demand side so you might see some re-softening on growth coming forward.”
Other risks include faster-than-expected interest rate tightening in the United States that would trigger more fund outflows.
Joseph E. Mr. Zveglich, ADB’s assistant chief economist, said in the same briefing that the Philippines may benefit from the US-China trade war since “Philippine producers of [intermediate] electronic goods can retool and attract the suppliers” of finished electronics equipment to the US market “that were previously coming from China.”
Mr. Bird also noted that external debt is currently “relatively low” and fiscal deficit remains “on track,” which “provides a strong setting for continued economic growth but also providing a buffer.”

Expect ‘very strong’ action today — BSP exec

September 27, 2018 | 12:31 am

LONDON — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will take “very strong” action at its meeting on Thursday, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said here on Tuesday, a move likely to be its fourth hike in interest rates in a row.
The central bank is widely expected to raise its key interest rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 4.5% in a bid to curb inflation and shore up the shaky peso currency, according to a Reuters poll.
A BusinessWorld poll late last week yielded the same expectation.
“I expect very strong monetary policy action,” Mr. Guinigundo told Reuters at an investor meetings in London.
“We expect inflation for the last four months of the year to remain elevated and there are volatilities in the foreign exchange market. Volatilities in FX market could spill over to the real economy and produce more pressures on prices.”
The BSP has hiked interest rates by 100 bps since May, to tamp down price pressures from higher taxes, a peso down almost nine percent since January as well as rising food and fuel costs.
“If you are coming from the direction that the central bank is behind the curve then you don’t need 50 basis points, it is probably 100 basis points or 75 basis points,” Mr. Guinigundo said.
“But I don’t think that is where we are coming from.”
He also said there were other tools in place such as reserve requirements for banks which at 18% are some of the highest in the world. He added that these could even go up to 20% at some point, if deemed necessary.
INFLATION MAY EASE
For economists at First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), inflation may have eased in September but still remained above six percent, likely prompting another strong rate hike from the central bank.
The analysts see inflation at 6.2% this month, when the Philippine Statistics Authority reports data on Oct. 5, slower than August’s 6.4% although still a leap from the three percent climb clocked in September 2017. If realized, this would again settle beyond the BSP’s 2-4% target range for 2018.
Surging food prices as well as world crude oil rates drove inflation to a nine-year peak last month, driven largely by supply constraints for cheap rice, meat, fish and vegetables. Consumer prices have maintained a steady ascent since the year opened, to which the central bank responded by raising benchmark interest rates by a cumulative 100 basis points (bp) from May to August.
The FMIC and UA&P analysts said the tightening cycle is not yet over, as they joined calls for another 50bp hike in today’s rate-setting meeting of the BSP.
“We expect the Monetary Board to lift policy rates by 50 basis points to 4.5% this month as it seeks to cool inflationary expectations and exchange rate pressures,” they said in the latest issue of The Market Call.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. last week committed to “take strong immediate action” in response to the faster-than-expected August inflation rate.
Many bank economists have priced in a 50bp hike in today’s meeting, noting that the impact of damage from typhoon Ompong likely stoked price pressures further. Inflation has averaged 4.8% for the first eight months, against the BSP’s 4.9% full-year estimate.
Still, the analysts believe that inflation has already peaked, as they expect price increases to ease in anticipation of additional rice supply from imports as well as from the harvest season.
Malacañang on Sept. 21 issued orders designed to facilitate delivery of agricultural products from farms to the retail market. July-September is a lean season for rice, which has a heavy contribution to inflation.
The analysts also believe the peso will “continue to weaken” against the dollar, moving closer to the P55 level by yearend.
Still, they expect faster economic growth this semester, supported by infrastructure investments despite tepid consumer spending amid rising costs.
“The desired investment-led growth paradigm that now dominates the country’s development should continue at elevated levels, as large public-private partnership projects (considered as private construction) add to the growing roster of ongoing and upcoming infrastructure projects,” The Market Call read.
“Robust capital goods imports and the manufacturing sector output should add to domestic demand while exports should move into positive territory in H2.”
A recovery in exports should boost growth prospects this semester, supported by improving global demand.
The Philippine economy expanded by 6.3% in the first semester, compared to 6.6% a year ago, a far cry from the government’s 7-8% target for the entire year. — Reuters and Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Car sales fall further in August

September 27, 2018 | 12:30 am

DOMESTIC sales of automobiles picked up in August from the previous month, but declined 14.1% when compared to the same month a year ago.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association on Wednesday reported their member companies sold 30,313 vehicles in August, against sales of 35,309 units in the same month last year.
The groups marked the seventh month of decreased sales when measured against the comparable period last year. Sales this year were positive year-on-year only in January, which saw a 4% growth.
Total sales dropped 14.3% to 229,941 vehicles year-to-date versus the 268,424 units in last year’s comparative eight months.
Sales in August were 8.1% more than the 28,038 units sold in July.
In a press statement that accompanied the vehicle groups’ report that focused on the month-on-month increase, CAMPI President Rommel R. Gutierrez attributed the improvement to “intensified promotional campaigns and new model launches.”
“Coming from a double-digit decline in July, our August sales performance is an indication of improving consumer confidence,” Mr. Gutierrez said.
Sales of commercial vehicles in August dropped 10% from a year ago, or 21,635 units this year versus 24,051 units last year.
The passenger car segment slumped 22.9% in August with 8,678 units sold versus last year’s 11,258 units.
Toyota Motor Philippines accounted for 42.06% of CAMPI sales during the first eight months of the year, with 96,716 units, an 18.3% decline from the same period last year. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. followed with a 19.26% share, or 44,283 units sold, a 6.7% decrease. Nissan Philippines, Inc. secured an 8.95% share with 20,952 vehicles sold, a 36.7% rise from last year. — J. C. Lim

Smart taps Samsung for VoWi-fi launch in Oct.

September 27, 2018 | 12:08 am

SMART Communications, Inc. is partially rolling out next month its Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-fi) call over a live network service for users of the latest Samsung devices, it said on Wednesday.
The PLDT, Inc. subsidiary said it had partnered with Samsung for its VoWi-fi technology launch, which will come once the phone manufacturer unveils its latest firmware over-the-air update.
“Soon, Smart customers can make VoWi-fi calls using Samsung smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, Galaxy S9 and S9+, Note 8, and Note 9 via any Wi-fi connection like Smart Wi-fi and PLDT Home Wi-fi,” it said.
VoWi-fi is Smart’s latest technology that lets users make a call or send a text through a mobile phone’s native dialer using a Wi-Fi connection.
“In addition to constantly innovating to be able to deliver more services to our customers, we are also happy to be working hand-in-hand with device manufacturers like Samsung in bringing technologies like VoWi-fi closer to our subscribers,” Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT-Smart senior vice-president for network planning and engineering, said in the statement.
Smart also offers an expanded network coverage, which will let users make video calls aside from voice calls over a Wi-Fi connection.
“Wi-fi calling will also be available soon to other select Samsung devices,” it said.
For his part, Samsung Philippines business unit head for IT and Mobile Jerry Mañus said, “We are excited as we take part in this new endeavor to shape the future of communication in the Philippines.”
Smart said in April it was able to make its first VoWi-fi call in Manila with help from its technology partner Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Its parent company PLDT made a $28.5-million deal with Huawei at the start of the year to develop its wireless services.
Smart also made breakthroughs last year with its Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) mobile call, which uses LTE or fourth generation (4G) network to make calls.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez

DMCI Homes posts P7.5-B sales from Pasig City condo project

September 27, 2018 | 12:07 am

THE property unit of DMCI Holdings, Inc. has almost sold out its condominium development in Pasig City, bringing in more than P7.52 billion in sales.
In a statement issued Wednesday, DMCI Homes said Fairlane Residences in Kapitolyo, Pasig City has recorded the figure after selling 99% of the 1,140 units in the residential condominium. The project now has only eight units left in its inventory.
The 51-storey project offers two-bedroom and three-bedroom units covering 52 to 81 square meters each. These are sold from P7.14 million to P12.88 million, according to prices listed on the company’s website.
Fairlane Residences sits on a 6,105-sq.m. lot in West Capitol, Kapitolyo. The project is accessible through Boni station of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and major roads such as EDSA, Pioneer Street, Shaw, and Pasig boulevards.
Aside from the existing infrastructure projects surrounding the property, the company is also banking on the construction of the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link Road, which is expected to improve travel within the cities of Pasig, Mandaluyong, Taguig, and Makati.
DMCI Homes targeted urban dwellers and young families for the project, who can benefit from the resort-inspired amenities and spacious living areas. The company expects to complete the single-tower project by 2024.
Fairlane Residences is among DMCI Homes’ projects that is expected to boost the earnings for this year. In the first six months of 2018, the company delivered a net income of P2.49 billion, 41% higher than the P1.76 billion it posted in the same period a year ago.
Reservation sales stood at P23.01 billion from January to June, accounting for more than half of its full-year target of P40 billion. DMCI Homes earlier aimed for P31 billion in reservation sales for 2018, but upgraded its target after seeing higher sales in the first half.
The company attributed its performance to the positive feedback of former clients, enhancing the value of the brand for potential customers.
“We’d like to think we have gained a strong following because of our track record of building homes that are of high-quality and value for money. For us, it has always been about whether we are making our customers happy. With the consistent strong sales of our projects, we feel this is bearing fruit for the company,” DMCI Homes President Alfredo R. Austria said in a statement.
DMCI Homes expects to maintain the pace of reservation sales for the second half of the year, banking on the projects set to be launched in Parañaque, Manila, Quezon City, Las Piñas, and Pasay. — Arra B. Francia

What makes a classic?

September 27, 2018 | 12:06 am

WHAT MAKES something a classic? To many people, it means something that has proven itself over the years to be consistently of merit.
Sentro 1771, one of the restaurants under the 1771 group (which includes Chateau 1771, Café 1771, and Flatiron 1771) has made it its task to redefine classics in Filipino cuisine and make their version a new classic.
For example, during a lunch at its branch in Capitol Commons, they brought out their Corned Beef Sinigang, made with the usual vegetable accouttrements, but made with cuts of beef cured in-house for three to five days. This has been a staple in the menu since about the early 2000s, and the memory still brings a smile to many of Manila’s diners. It can be argued that the dish has since become a new classic, and would probably be remembered decades from now.
As for its new offerings, the restaurant brought out Shrimp Cracker Salad, a salad with shredded greens and dressed seafood, to be spooned on shrimp crackers on the side and munched like canapes. The noisy crunch of the crackers and the tanginess of lemongrass in the dressing awakens the senses and opens the diner’s palate for more, such as the Bangus Pandan (broiled fish in pandan leaves, akin to sinugba), and the filling Bagoong Rice, with chorizo and chicharon (pork cracklings), a meal in itself.
Meanwhile, the restaurant has expanded its serving sizes: “small” for personal meals, “sharing” portions for small groups, and “family” size for a larger number of people.
To end the meal, a dessert platter was brought out, laden with ube (purple yam) ice cream with a macapuno (coconut sport) topping, coffee pie, and Keso Flan (a cheesecake with salted egg and queso de bola). To make use of the restaurant’s bar facilities, they also came out with a line of cocktails, infused with Filipino flavors like calamansi, tamarind, Buko Pandan, and Tanglad (lemongrass). A warning: these were quite strong, so maybe abstain from these for lunch.
We’re frequently warned not to fix anything that isn’t broken. Claudette Cuares, Sous-Chef of the 1771 group, however, says how you can tinker with the classics, at least for Filipino food: “The flavor has to be familiar with the Filipino.”
Sure, she says, you could tweak it a little to help with the presentation (“that could compete with other cosmopolitans”), but she emphasizes, “We have to be still within the parameters in terms of flavor.” — Joseph L. Garcia

SM Prime leases out 97% of yet-to-open office building

September 27, 2018 | 12:06 am

SM PRIME Holdings, Inc. will be unveiling its newest office building in the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City this Friday, alongside the topping off of its other office project in the area.
The listed property developer and mall operator said in a statement on Wednesday that it would launch ThreeE-Com Center, opening with 97% of its 114,000-square meter floor area leased out.
At the same time, the Sy-led firm will hold the topping off ceremony for FourE-Com Center, which is slated to be its largest office building to date with a gross floor area (GFA) of 190,000 sq.m.
“The launching of ThreeE-Com Center and the topping off of FourE-Com Center mark another milestone for SM Prime as these uniquely designed business centers add to the already captivating architectural landscape in the Mall of Asia Complex, as well as offering ample office space suitable for the growing needs of the outsourcing industry and other businesses,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said in a statement.
Located at the corner of Harbor Drive and Bay Shore in the MOA complex, ThreeE-Com Center is a 15-storey twin-tower development accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. Its office spaces are located from the fifth to 15^th floors, with the second to fourth levels dedicated for podium parking.
The project will also house retail establishments like Alfa Mart, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Mei Yu Restaurant, and a BDO bank on the ground level.
ThreeE-Com Center carries a Gold certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), indicating that its facilities are environmentally friendly.
The opening of ThreeE-Com Center will bring SM Prime’s total GFA to around 595,000 sq.m., as it currently operates 10 office buildings situated across Makati, Pasay, Quezon City, Taguig, Clark in Pampanga, Taytay in Rizal, and Sta. Rosa in Laguna.
Meanwhile, FourE-Com Center will feature three towers with 15 storeys each. It offers a 3,000 sq.m. floor plate which is the typical demand for various companies, primarily technology-based ones.
The project boasts of a crystal-like design, and is in the process of getting certification for LEED standards as well. SM Prime expects to open the building in 2019.
The E-Com Center projects form part of SM Prime’s Commercial Properties Group, which handles the development and leasing of office buildings in the country. The company’s core business is in the development of malls, 71 of which are located in the Philippines and seven more in China.
SM Prime grew its net income by 16% to P16.62 billion in the first half of 2018, driven by the provincial expansion of its mall business as well as higher demand for residential properties. Revenues also picked up 15% to P49.77 billion during the period.
Shares in SM Prime jumped 3.22% or P1.15 to close at P36.85 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia

GBP forges retail power supply contract with Robinsons Land

September 27, 2018 | 12:05 am

GLOBAL Business Power Corp. (GBP) said its unit in retail electricity had signed a power supply agreement with Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) under the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) retail competition and open access (RCOA) scheme.
The agreement renews GBP and RLC’s retail supply contract last year and expands the supply agreement to 26 megawatts (MW) from the previous 22 MW. The contract covers Robinsons malls and Universal Robina Corp. factories located in Bacolod, Tacloban, Roxas, Iloilo and Cebu.
“This partnership harnesses various synergies and builds on our respective strengths to accelerate growth not just in the Visayas, but ultimately, the entire country,” said GBP President Jaime T. Azurin in a statement.
He said the renewal came as GBP realigned its vision to become a total sustainable energy solutions provider and offer more flexibility to its customers.
GBP said the Visayas region mirrored the country’s robust growth, which in terms of gross domestic product grew by 6.7% in 2017 amid brisk activities in manufacturing, construction, and retail trade.
Central and Western Visayas, where GBP and RLC have key operations, regional gross domestic product grew by 5.1% and 8.4%, respectively. It noted that Western Visayas is the fourth fastest-growing region in the country.
GBP quoted RLC President and Chief Executive Officer Frederick D. Go as saying, “We look forward to working with GBP to help meet our energy requirements.”
RCOA allows “contestable customers,” or those whose peak demand fall within a set threshold, to freely choose their electricity supplier.
GBP operates 11 power generation facilities in Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan and Mindoro. Last year, it acquired a 50% stake in Mindanao-based Alsons Thermal Energy Corp.

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